


Premiere Night

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based Very Loosely On A Real Life What If, Basically A Fix-It Fic For 2019, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, that turns to for real relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25997107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Poe winning a droid design contest gets Ben invited to the Rise of Starkiller premiere.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Gen Prompt Bingo Round 18





	Premiere Night

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Contemporary AU
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Author’s Notes: Based on a bit of a real life “what if” I had...
> 
> As for why I’m taking liberties with the movie-within-a-fic, I just don’t want it to get *too* meta. 😉

Ben had been planning to relax and work on the latest chapter of his Darkpilot fanfiction, “The Stars Between Us” (doubling as a prediction of the Rise of Starkiller movie that was coming out The Year of Our Lord 2019) when his phone rang. It was the distinctive ringtone he’d picked for Poe, more specifically the Space Battles theme song, so he couldn’t really miss it no matter how hard he likely wanted to.  
  
“You know,” Ben said playfully as he answered the phone, “You could just text me...”  
  
Poe laughed. “Sorry, Ben. Did I distract you?”  
  
“Eh, not too much.” The truth was, he still enjoyed spending time with Poe. It helped that Poe managed to captivate him even more lately. They’d been friends since they were little. Now, at twenty-five years old and just having his own apartment, Ben was starting to wonder if Poe was “only” a friend.  
  
“My droid design got admitted in the movie!” Poe sounded so excited then, and Ben, despite how tired he was, found himself grinning.  
  
“That’s amazing!” Ben said. “I swear, if people don’t go up to you and start asking for autographs...”  
  
Poe laughed. “Ben, I don’t think they do that for people who win contests, but thanks.” He sighed. “I just kind of figured that Kira needs a droid buddy too. I mean, John Doe has his; you can’t really forget the droid that carried the piece of the map to Kane Starkiller...”  
  
“No, you can’t.” As much as some detractors had complained about _The Force Awakens_ being a rip-off of _A New Hope,_ Ben had found the movie a lot of fun. (Well, except for the death of Jacen Starkiller’s father. Seriously, what the fuck, Disney and Lucasfilm?)  
  
“So I’m invited to the premiere,” Poe said. “I was wondering, Ben...do you want to go with me?”  
  
“Poe Dameron, I’d be honored.”  
  
***  
  
He had to go shopping for a nice suit, of course. Tai had helped him, along with Hennix, Hennix insisting that he couldn’t just go to the premiere looking like he’d rolled out of bed. (And then Tai had insisted that Ben didn’t have to look like an A-List celebrity, and then the two started playfully bickering. Ben did love his college friends. Platonically, that is)  
  
It was worth it, though, driving up to the premiere the day it happened and going to the will-call tent to see Poe there. “You look wonderful!” Poe said. He was dressed up as John Doe the bounty hunter, and he added, “I admit I feel a little less classy next to you.”  
  
Ben laughed. “You look very...bounty hunter-ish.” Well, maybe that wasn’t the right word. Dashing, definitely. Was there a way to describe your very attractive, charming best friend, who was also the sweetest man, looking the part?  
  
Poe wrinkled his nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
“It means you look perfect.”  
  
They got their tickets, the girl running the will call tent asking if they were on a date.  
  
“Oh!” Ben said. “He’s my best friend. He just...invited me here.”  
  
The girl nodded, smiling. “Gotcha. Just wondering. Gotta say, he’s a lucky man, getting his droid in the movie...”  
  
Poe shrugged. “I had help. Designing him, that is. ‘Sides, droids deserve better than they get. I mean, who bars droids from a cantina?”  
  
The girl actually laughed. “Well, have fun. Both of you.”  
  
***  
  
“I don’t believe it,” Ben said. On the red carpet proper, the part that wasn’t roped off, the actors and actresses in the movie were posing, answering questions, making people laugh occasionally with their stories. “It’s so much bigger than the TLJ premiere suggested...”  
  
“You like it?” Poe said. He sounded hopeful, almost like he wanted Ben to like it — like he wanted to make Ben happy, somehow. It was something that Ben couldn’t help but notice, and he wondered why. After all, it wasn’t like Poe could make Ben unhappy.  
  
“Poe Dameron, you are a gift.”  
  
He could have sworn Poe’s nose wrinkled in amusement and pleasure at being complimented.  
  
Ben continued. “Also, you really rock the part of John Doe with that cosplay.”  
  
Poe grinned. Fuck, Ben would do anything to get that smile out of him again.  
  
***  
  
The room where they had the screening was packed. Even trying to find a good seat — Ben instinctively held Poe’s hand even as they finally found a seat. It was the director of the film, one Firmus Piett, who gave a quick speech, thanking everyone for being a part of the journey, fans and actors alike, crew, and plenty more...  
  
“I will admit that working with Veers was a bit of a handful,” Piett said, and the audience laughed. “But nonetheless, I hope you find all this, all of it, a satisfying end to the Starkiller Saga...”  
  
The movie started as soon as Piett got offstage. Ben watched as the familiar opening title scroll appeared, talking about how the evil (although that was a bit of a stretch) Jacen Starkiller was waging war on the Resistance. All with the familiar, awesome music playing.  
  
And then the movie started proper. A pan down to a planet, to a lone TIE Fighter (Jacen’s TIE Whisper according to the merchandise) gliding smoothly along the stars, and the movie started...  
  
***  
  
“I can’t believe it,” Poe said even as they rode home from the afterparty they went to after the movie was over. “I mean, it was great but...really sucked that Jacen died, you know?”  
  
“Definitely agree,” Ben said. He sighed. “It would have been interesting, y’know? Having him live, having to make up for what he did...”  
  
“Definitely. It was worth seeing some good John and Jacen moments, though. It really was. I _knew_ they were going to reveal they were childhood friends.” Poe laughed in delight. “I mean, come on...they were building it up. John recognizing him on the battlefield, the fact that part of the code to John’s ship is Jacen’s name...”  
  
“Yeah.” A smile. “And it was great seeing BB-8 on the big screen, wasn’t it?”  
  
“He was adorable!” Poe said. “I knew they’d do justice to my little buddy...” Then, “Ben...did you have a good time, going with me?”  
  
Ben nodded. “I always would.”  
  
“Yeah. Good.”  
  
They stopped at Ben’s apartment complex just then. Poe turned to look at him. “I really did want you to be happy,” he said. “Going with me. Because...you know when that woman at the tent mistook us for a couple?”  
  
Ben nodded.  
  
“I wanted that too. I always have. I mean...you’re a good person. You’re creative, funny and...if you wanted to write our own fix-it fic, be the Jacen to my John...would you do it?”  
  
Ben grinned, feeling like the inside of him had burst into bloom. “What took you so long?”  
  
He hugged Poe. He could feel how warm Poe was, and how right, and he knew that it had taken some time, taken a premiere to get to this point...but Ben was glad they had.


End file.
